Forskerens frihet når interesser vil styre

Klaus Mittenzwei,Stig S Gezelius

doi:10.23865/noasp.63.ch2

Abstract

Actors who seek to restrict scientists’ academic freedom often believe they have legitimate reasons for doing so, and this belief often relies on misunderstandings regarding the nature and rationale of freedom in science. This chapter explains principles of freedom in science, why these principles matter, and how they can be protected when interests conflict. The authors distinguish between four freedoms in science: freedom of subject, freedom of source, freedom of interpretation, and freedom of speech. These freedoms each serve their scientific purpose and are – each to their own degree – important to the legitimacy of science. The authors argue that the freedoms of interpretation and speech, especially, must be absolute in science. This chapter delves particularly into the freedom of speech, because interested parties frequently attack this freedom when they fight over knowledge presented to the public. The authors draw on their experiences from the Norwegian scientific community to exemplify how problems of academic freedom may arise and eventually be solved.

Highlights

Interessekonflikter i forskning interest is a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning a primary interest [...] tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest» (Thompson, 1993: 573)
Fordi forskningens integritet settes på spill, har identifisering og håndtering av slike konfliktsituasjoner vært en av forskningsetikkens mest sentrale oppgaver
In this chapter we look at statements in selected texts from articles, reports and the media which can be linked to uncertainty and quality in research related to the effects of salmon lice

Summary

Introduction

Interessekonflikter i forskning interest is a set of conditions in which professional judgment concerning a primary interest [...] tends to be unduly influenced by a secondary interest» (Thompson, 1993: 573). Forskningsetiske retningslinjer for naturvitenskap og teknologi fremhever at det ved oppdragsforskning vanligvis er oppdragsgiver som bestemmer tema og problemstillinger i idéfasen, mens forskeren har ansvar for spørsmål knyttet til metode, datainnsamling og tolkning av resultater, og – mer overordnet – et ansvar for å sikre vitenskapelig kvalitet. Når det gjelder selve bruken av forskningsresultatene, fremhever forskningsetiske retningslinjer at forskere har et ansvar for å bidra med relevant kunnskap.11 Men forskning gir ikke nødvendigvis sikker kunnskap eller entydige svar.

Results

Conclusion